The Hilary Project
by In Darkness Is Light
Summary: A series of drabbles and oneshots centered around Hilary paired with the male characters from Beyblade. Please read and review. Chapter 17 is a ZeoHilary pairing.
1. Trigger Happy: Ian and Hilary

AN: I do not own anything but this story!

Trigger Happy

* * *

Hilary sat at her desk, wondering what she should do for her boyfriend Ian Papov's birthday.

The two had been together for 3 years now and still she hadn't found the perfect way to celebrate his birthday.

Of course, it wasn't very easy to decide on what to do, considering they didn't really have the same likes.

Hilary would love to do something romantic but she knew he would disapprove; he wasn't really the type to enjoy simple, romantic, mushy gestures and activities.

Then again, Hilary wasn't that sure about what he'd enjoy; most of their time spent together wasn't used to talk about birthdays and stuff like that. Ian had told her that he really enjoyed surprises and that he wouldn't want to know what was happening for his birthday, though; Hilary imagined that he had regretted those words after the past two birthdays.

On her first attempt at organizing his birthday, she had done a big get together surprise birthday that resulted in one highly hyper Max, a few random beyblader make-out sessions, and Tala puking in the closet during an intense game of seven minutes in heaven. The second attempt, she decided, hadn't been much better. After the first disastrous birthday, Ian told her that for the next birthday, she should try to plan something less noisy and with less people, maybe just something for the two of them. Hilary nodded to show that she'd understood and they ended up spending the day in each other's company at a spa.

Needless to say, Ian was not as enthused as Hilary was. He had never told her, but he had a thing with strangers touching him, and this 'birthday surprise' of hers was definitely going to make him uncomfortable. Of course, seeing her enjoying herself made him want to at least try to endure it but that too had proven to be just as bad an idea as coming to the spa was. The day ended in them getting banned from the spa because Ian wouldn't stop hitting the masseuse.

After going through those disastrous flashbacks of previous birthdays, Hilary went back to thinking of what to do for this year's, determined to make this birthday the best birthday her boyfriend could ever ask for. But what did he like? Hilary decided to call up some of their friends and ask them.

"Hello?" came the voice of the first person she decided to call.

"Hey Spencer! Um, I was just wondering what to do for Ian's birthday, and I wanted to see if you had any suggestions as to what he might like," she replied.

"Oh, well, I never really talked to him much…but I know what you SHOULDN'T do!"

"Ok…" Hilary said, deciding that an idea of what not to do would prove to be useful as well.

"Don't take him to an amusement park, he hates those things! A few years back we went, just the Blitzkreig Boys, and his nose got stuck in the Ferris Wheel operator thing…man, we needed to stay in the emergency room for HOURS after that!"

"Uh…ok. Thanks for the advice."

"No problem. Hey Hilary, I gotta go now, my pie is in the oven, but I hope you come up with a great idea."

"Yeah, sure. Thanks Spencer."

She hung up, a tad disappointed because she seemed to be stuck on square one. Hilary decided to call up another member of her boyfriend's team.

"What do you want?" came a cranky voice on the other end.

"Yeesh Kai! Is that how you greet all your friends?" Hilary asked, a bit offended.

"Sorry," he mumbled, "you woke me up."

"Oh, sorry," she apologized, "I just called to see if you had any ideas of where I could take Ian for his birthday…"

"Uh, I really haven't been around him much…to tell you the truth, he kind of creeps me out."

"Kai Hiwatari is creeped out by something?! CALL THE NEWS!" she yelled, before falling into a fit of giggles.

"Ha ha," came his sarcastic voice, "seriously though, I don't really have much of a clue."

"It's ok. I'll leave you to your sleep now."

"Sorry and yeah, goodnight Hilary."

"Sleep tight."

Once again, Hilary hung up the phone, feeling more and more hopeless. Deciding to put all her faith in this one last person, she called him up.

"Hello?"

"Tala!"

"Hilary?"

"Yup! It's me!"

"What are you doing calling me at- oh wait- it's only 9 pm."

"Uh…yeah. Anyway, I'm trying to figure out what to do for Ian's birthday…any ideas?"

"I don't know of any places…but I'm sure that if you think about his personality, you'll be able to find something fitting. You're a smart girl."

Hilary sighed, "Yeah, thanks Tala."

"No prob. Cya later."

"Bye."

Even though none of the phone calls she had made were of much use, Hilary was determined to find a great place for her boyfriend's birthday. Said determination got her to use Tala's idea of thinking about Ian's personality.

Ok, so what was he? He was shorter than most guys, kind of brutal, liked sharp things but was nice when he wanted to be. He was a joker, loyal to his friends and family, manipulative, and oh-Trigger happy.

'Trigger happy, trigger happy,' Hilary knew that there was an idea in there somewhere; she just had to find it. After a few moments of intense thought, she exclaimed, "AHA!" Of course! How could she have been so stupid? The idea was SO obvious, it was painful!

She called up her place of choice and a car company, and reserved them for the special day. Two weeks later, when it was time for said day, she blindfolded her confused boyfriend and dragged him out of the house. Practically throwing him in the car, she told the driver to get them to their destination. An hour later, they arrived at their destination and Hilary took Ian out of the car.

She removed his blindfold and he looked around. They were in a desert. Ok…that was slightly creepy. What was even more frightening was that when he turned to look back at his girlfriend, she was holding a gun. Ok…they were in a desert, a remote location, where there were no people to hear him scream…and she had a gun. Certainly this would not end well.

Hours later though, he was having the time of his life and by the looks on Hilary's face, so was she. He stopped what he was doing for a few moments and when she'd done the same, he gave her a quick kiss on the lips before saying, "This really was the best birthday ever, thanks."

She smiled, glad that she had finally found something he'd like. And for that matter, something they both liked.

Who knew spending time at a firing range could be so much fun?


	2. Eating Competition: Gary and Hilary

AN: I do not own anything but this story!

Eating Competition

* * *

Gary stared at the girl next to him, almost disbelieving. He knew that he always loved her, but now, he had a good idea as to why.

It wasn't so much that she was kind to him or that she didn't consider his weight a problem. It wasn't because she was pretty or because she was smart. It wasn't even her spitfire attitude. No, he knew why he loved her and no one else. He supposed he had always known why but the reason had not been as clear to him ever as it was now.

He continued to stare at her, his eyes growing softer by the minute until finally he couldn't help himself, he began to tear up. Upon seeing this, Hilary stopped and looked at her boyfriend, a bit concerned. "What's wrong Gary?" she asked him.

"You make me so proud," he told her while lightly sobbing and hugging her.

"Uh…thank you?" she replied, a bit confused by his sudden display of emotion.

He continued on with his version of a serenade, "I have never seen a girl eat this much before. No one has been able to do this, no one but you!"

"Do what sweetie?" she asked him, a bit confused.

"Beat me at an eating competition!"

Hilary laughed; of course that was what he was referring to. She just shook her head at him while he remained all starry-eyed. Yes, Gary knew why he loved that girl. She had a spirit of competition and a love of food that was unparalleled.


	3. Darkness: Brooklyn and Hilary

**AN: I do not own anything but this story!**

Darkness

* * *

Hilary woke up happily to the bright Mexican sun. She got up out of the hotel bed and slid open the opaque curtains that were blocking the sun. Back at the bed, a groan of displeasure was heard and a young man rubbed his eyes sleepily.

Hilary raced back to the bed and jumped on the half-sleeping lump that was her boyfriend. "Brooklyn Masefield," she yelling in his ear, calling him by his full name, "wake up! Come on! We're not going to waste this beautiful day in the hotel!"

Reluctantly, the man beneath the covers woke up and together they went down to breakfast.

Breakfast was one of her favorite times of the day. It was when the sun had just risen up and was now illuminating the open patio and buffet, where she and her boyfriend of 5 years would share a scrumptious fruit and toast breakfast in the warm outdoors.

Next, the two went to look at what the brochures and pamphlets said they could do in the surrounding area. They decided on a small jeep tour that ended up at a small, private beach. During their tour, they saw much of the beautiful Mexican landscape and were even able to travel through some of the richer suburban areas. Finally, they came to the last stop on the tour, the private beach.

It was owned by the hotel yet was not used much because it was slightly rocky and the sand was not the soft type. There was also a cave located in the center of a large cliff. The man who was driving the jeep, Jorge, told them that the cave was a bat cave and they were going to go inside.

A little afraid of going in, Hilary looked up at her boyfriend, hoping that he'd disagree with the idea. Instead, he said, "That sounds great! Let's go!" Much to Hilary's dismay both the men she was traveling with got enthusiastic grins on their faces and she just didn't have the heart to tell them she didn't want to go.

A bit hesitant, she followed the two men, trailing behind them. If Brooklyn had sensed her discomfort, he definitely did not show it. As a matter of fact, when he had noticed her trailing behind the two of them, he immediately ran back to her side and practically dragged her to the entrance of the cave.

Once they arrived to the entrance, Jorge made sure that they had all their gear put on properly; water shoes, lifejackets, and flashlights were all checked before going in and when Brooklyn asked if pictures were allowed, the answer came yes.

Their tour guide entered the cave first, followed by Brooklyn and last, Hilary. Almost immediately they had to stop because their eyes were not adjusted to the darkness of the cave. When finally they started up again, they walked a short distance to another miniature cave that was surrounded by water.

"In here," Jorge told them, "is where the bats are. Shall we go in?"

Almost immediately, Hilary saw her boyfriend's bright blue eyes light up as he nodded, eager to see the animals that inhabited the cave. She too wanted to see the bats but the draft in the cave combined with the darkness of it was giving her Goosebumps. Nevertheless, she braved going into the mini cave and seeing the bats.

The moment she was inside, Hilary was greeted by the many bright black eyes of the brown bats and she thought it was frightening how they lit up the darkness. They were staring at her. Just sitting there, staring. Suddenly, a whole wall of them made an abrupt motion with their wings, almost as if they wanted to fly but was scared of the new comers. Hilary wondered why they would be hesitant to fly; wasn't that, after all, what they did?

As if reading her mind, Brooklyn responded, "They use echo-location. We're in here so we block their waves and they don't want to fly because they sense there's something else in this room. They probably think we're predators."

"Oh," came the reply.

"Isn't it beautiful?" he asked her.

"Y-yeah, I guess," she whimpered as a bat flew overhead.

"Hey," he began softly, "what's wrong?"

She said nothing, just whimpered in return.

"Are you afraid of the bats?" No reply came. "Are you claustrophobic?" he tried again. And again, there was nothing.

"Are you afraid of the dark?" A small whimper.

"It's alright," he told her. She looked up at her boyfriend and even though it was dark, she could perfectly see his kind eyes and gentle smile, the serene expression he wore throughout the day. "You really don't have anything to be scared of," he told her, "Come."

She took his hand and together they waded through the waist-high water to yet another opening in the cave.

"You don't have to fear the dark," he told her as they continued walking, "for without darkness there'd be no light. They need to exist in a balance, everything does. And if you're afraid of what's in the dark, you needn't be for the enemies that appear in the dark are usually a lot weaker than the enemies lurking in the light."

As he said this, they began to get closer to the opening, and stopped right before it. "What I'm trying to say is, wherever there's darkness, there is light as well. And if you still view darkness as a negative thing, then you must only endure it and soon, you will come to the light," he led her out of the opening of the cave and onto a ledge overlooking the most beautiful forest she'd ever seen.

"For this," she whispered breathlessly, "I'd endure all the darkness."

He looked down at her, smiling, and whispered back, "That's all I ask."

* * *

AN: Hope you guys liked it! I was relating the darkness of the cave to Brooklyn's internal darkness, so hopefully some of you got that! 


	4. Marriage: Raul and Hilary

AN: I do not own anything but this story!

Marriage

* * *

It was almost impossible to believe. Girlfriend and Boyfriend of 7 years…and now they were going to be married.

This thought repeated itself in the mind of Raul Fernandez, who in 2 weeks time would be married to his girlfriend of 7 years, Hilary Tachibana. In his mind, he went back in time, looking through the memories they had shared and how they all led up to this point.

It had all started when his sister, Julia, decided that for her birthday she was going to invite her friends to a party. Since the dynamic duo of brother and sister had a circus performance in Batuken that week anyway, Julia had figured that she'd meet up with Hilary and hang out with any of the other bladers that were in town.

When called up, Hilary immediately had agreed to the idea and the two girls happily met each other on the first day Julia arrived. Raul, not too keen on spending so much time with the other male bladers, had hung around with the two girls for the first few days. It was only then that he started realizing how he liked Hilary. Not only was she a normal, down-to-earth girl, but she also treated people nicely (most of the time).

Then it had started. Every time she would talk to him, he would choke up and not be able to say anything back, just stand there stuttering like an idiot. It kept getting worse and worse until finally, one day; he had fainted after she'd given him a hug.

This is what made him go hang out with the guys, and this is what led to the beginning of their relationship. Julia, after the incident, obviously knew of her brother's feelings for Hilary, but assured him that she would not say anything to the other bladers. He had believed her. Then again, looking back, he probably should have realized how close she was getting with a certain red-haired Blitzkrieg Boy. Inevitably, the rest of the bladers had found out and once, when they thought Raul to be asleep, Tyson had expressed that he knew for a fact Hilary had a crush on Raul as well.

Upon hearing this, he gained some confidence, and finally, a few days before he and Julia were to go back to Spain, he confessed to Hilary his feelings and she had confessed that she returned them. Well, they shared their first kiss on the river bank and spent most of their time in each other's company for the last few days until finally, it was time to go back.

The two promised to keep in touch, and it was done, though in their letters, they expressed how expensive postage had gotten. Eventually though, Raul got a laptop and they began to correspond through e-mail. Needless to say, a long distance relationship was hard to maintain, and some might wonder if it shouldn't count as a "real" relationship, but the two got through it and on a few occasions, they met up if they were close.

Upon reaching the age of 17, Julia and Raul announced to the world that they were going to stop their traveling with their circus for a while and find a steady home. Most of the other blading teams lived far away and there wasn't really a way to be close to all of them, so they decided on moving to Japan. Partly to be near the team they felt closest with, partly so that Raul could be with Hilary, and partly because it was relatively close to the area of Russia that Tala lived in.

Now came the real challenge. Raul and Hilary were now able to see each other almost everyday of the week, and sometimes, they weren't sure if this was good or bad. Even though Raul really liked Hilary, she got on his nerves sometimes what with her stubbornness and all. And she would admit too, he got on her nerves because sometimes he was so oblivious to the world around him that he created a bubble of optimism. Of course, Hilary didn't have anything against optimism, but sometimes it meant being ignorant.

The two had always apologized if any harsh words were exchanged and they had even broken up a couple of times, only to come back to each other in the end. He figured that part of the reason he didn't always agree with what she did is because Hilary was like his sister, in so many ways and Julia had always felt a need to control him and tell him what to do. It felt like Hilary too sometimes took advantage of him or bossed him around and was too stubborn for her own good. So many things were similar between the two girls and he loved both of them, obviously in different ways, but love nevertheless. Raul sometimes wondered if perhaps that was the reason he felt attracted to Hilary so much…because she was familiar, almost like an old, comfy shoe (though if Hilary knew he was comparing her to an old shoe, she'd for sure annul their marriage).

'Oh well,' he thought, 'it doesn't really matter. We're getting married in a few weeks and I can't wait, though I am absolutely petrified.'

They were in love and about to spend the rest of their lives together, which was all that mattered. Just two people, ready to make the biggest step of their lives.

Besides, wasn't there something that said you marry people like your siblings and parents anyway?


	5. Coffee Breaks: Kenny and Hilary

AN: I do not own anything but this story!

Coffee Breaks

* * *

The clear shriek of the phone woke Kenny up and groggily; he lifted the receiver only to hear the sound of his girlfriend's voice on the other line.

"Kenny, can you come over today? My computer's not working," she asked.

"Hilary, you know I can't. I told you, today's my job interview!"

"But Kenny," she whined, "please, for me?"

Knowing he was defeated he replied, "Alright, but only because I love you."

"Love you too!" she cooed. "See you soon!"

And with that, she hung up the phone.

Kenny put down the receiver and sighed, "Yeah," he whispered, a bit exasperated, "see you soon."

He walked briskly through the neighborhood, hoping that the problem with Hilary's computer was just something minor and could be fixed in time for his interview. When he arrived at her apartment, she immediately greeted him with a brisk kiss and led him to the room where her laptop was located.

Beginning to fix the computer, Kenny saw that this was not going to be an easy task; the problem so far, remained unidentifiable and for someone of Kenny's caliber, that was a rare occurrence. He tried multiple scans and running multiple programs to find out what the problem was, all the while glancing nervously at the clock, reassuring himself that if he finished soon, he'd have enough time to make it to his interview.

Unfortunately, the clock was still ticking and he seemed to be nowhere near finding the source of the problem. Just then, he noticed what appeared to be a stain on the laptop's screen. "Hey Hilary," he asked curiously, "what's the blotch right there?"

"Oh," she replied nonchalantly, "I spilled coffee on the laptop yesterday. No biggie."

Upon hearing this, Kenny's left eyebrow began to twitch, a sure sign that he was annoyed. "No biggie?" he imitated, "No biggie? THIS IS A BIG BIGGIE! If you spilt the coffee on your computer, how can you possibly expect it to work?! Computers aren't waterproof!"

A bit taken aback by her boyfriend's sudden angry outburst, Hilary backed into a corner of the room with both her hand up, as if to say, 'I'm sorry!'

"Sorry," she apologized a few minutes later.

A few moments later, Kenny replied, "Well, what's done is done. No used crying over spilt milk, or coffee or whatever."

"Well," Hilary continued as she led him to the door of her apartment, "thanks for coming over anyway. Sorry that my stupidity caused you to miss your interview."

She gave him a hug and a kiss, before watching him leave and head back home, or more likely, to apologize to his would-have-been employer for not appearing at the interview.

He went down the stairs to the ground level and watched until she closed the door to the apartment, wanting to make sure she was safe. Then, he turned with around with a sigh and began to walk to the place where he would've been employed. "Oh, the things I do for love."


	6. Monkeying Around: Kevin and Hilary

AN: I do not own anything but this story!

Monkeying Around

* * *

Looking back on the numerous memories Hilary had with her boyfriend, she realized that most of their time was spent, as some would call it, 'Monkey-ing around'. Whether it was going to an amusement park, a comedy at the cinema, or just messing around with each other, it seemed that everything they did was for fun. Even the way they had gotten together was somewhat playful. In fact, there was only one time she could actually remember him being serious and it was after he asked her out. 

It had all begun he challenged her to a beyblade match. She had looked at him strangely and bluntly told him, "Kevin, you know I don't have a clue how to blade."

"Come on Hilary, just try it!" he prodded.

Giving in, she took a beyblade from his outstretched hand, and launched it. He followed suit, launching Galman and letting a cat-and-mouse chase begin. Surprisingly, Hilary's blade was still spinning well into the chase, stopping only when Hilary's concentration was broken by random paint swirls on the ground. Mesmerized by the beautiful sparkly purple paint, she watched words being formed onto the concrete.

First word…'will,'

Second word…'you'

Third word…'go'

Fourth word…'out'

Fifth word…'with'

Sixth word…'me?'

She read the words one by one and Kevin watched anxiously fidget as a confused look settled on her features. "Huh?" she wondered out loud. It was only when she noticed that the paint was coming out of Galman's blade that Hilary made the connection, and almost immediately her features lit up. Then fell again. "Wait a minute, you're not pulling some prank are you?" she asked suspiciously. Kevin was after all known for his pranks on other people and Hilary was hoping that this wasn't just one of them.

With a serious face, he answered, "No jokes. It's for real."


	7. Leaves: Max and Hilary

AN: I do not own anything but this story!

Leaves

* * *

Hilary followed her best friend Max to his backyard, where, no doubt, they'd have hours of fun raking leaves.

It never ceased to amaze her that even though they were 17 and would be starting university soon, they still found pleasure in the simple, most childish things. So here they were, on a beautiful October morning, raking the many leaves of the Mizuhara backyard. Things started off boringly enough, with just two teens lazily raking leaves away from flowers, the cold October wind not yet having woken them up.

The atmosphere livened up only when Max became his usual cheery self. Playfully, he picked up a handful of leaves and threw them at Hilary, making her shriek with surprise and giggle with laughter. She too, went and grabbed a handful of the leaves and while Max wasn't looking, put them down the back of his shirt.

"Ah! That's cold!" he exclaimed when the freshly rained upon leaves fell down his back. Quickly, he grabbed the back of his shirt and began fanning it open, hoping to get all the leaves out. Hilary watched from beside him and couldn't help but laugh at his antics.

Eventually, she stopped laughing at him and helped him get the rest of the leaves from under his shirt. Normally, to any person looking, the two would have seemed to be in more of a boyfriend/girlfriend type relationship rather than the friendly one they were in. Sure, their relationship with one another was intimate but not physically. They were very comfortable around each other, and told each other everything, knowing that they should not be embarrassed of whatever they had to say because the other would always love them just the same.

Once Hilary was finished cleaning Max up, she smiled at him and he smiled back. Then they went on to finish raking the rest of the leaves. They worked quickly, so quickly in fact that they felt unaccomplished when they saw the leaves in one neat pile.

"So," Hilary started, "what do we do now?"

At this, Max got a playful grin on his face to which Hilary responded with a worried expression: when Max got that grin, it never meant anything good. As if someone had read her mind and decided to confirm her suspicions, Max got a running start and tackled her straight into the neatly stacked pile of leaves.

"Ahh!" Hilary screamed as she was thrown into the air, landing softly into the pile of leaves with Max landing just seconds later right beside her.

She greeted him with an armful of leaves thrown at his head. "What the hell was that for?!" she asked angrily, but he could tell she wasn't actually upset.

He smiled widely and kindly at her and gave her a hug while replying in a childish voice, "I love you!"

Hilary rolled her eyes at his response and told him, "You're such an idiot," and tackled him further into the leaves.


	8. Thunderstorms: Lee and Hilary

AN: I do not own anything but this story!

Thunderstorms

* * *

Hilary Tachibana was deathly afraid of thunderstorms, and no one knew why better than Lee Wong. 

That summer, Hilary had come with Ray to go see White Tiger Hills. Now that the Bladebreakers were all split up, Hilary wanted to keep in touch with all of them, so each summer, one of them would volunteer to house her, provided that she paid for the plane tickets and helped around the house.

Initially, Ray had stayed with her and showed her around the village, making sure that she knew enough places and people so as to be able to get help if she got lost. Slowly, he had begun to let her roam around more on her own, sending her to run errands such as grocery shopping or borrowing random things from neighbors. After the past week, he had decided that she knew enough about the village to be able to go out on her own and even sent her to a local store to get the key to his house duplicated for her.

Hilary felt fairly pleased that she'd managed to learn about White Tiger Hills so quickly, as did Ray, who was now happily able to spend the summer with his girlfriend, Mariah. Even though Hilary and Mariah had become good friends over the past few weeks, Hilary understood that the two still needed some alone time and was more than happy to let them have it. She decided that today would be a day best spent around the house, perhaps cleaning up while Ray was gone, leaving a nice surprisingly clean house to come home to.

In the middle of sweeping the living room, a knock on the door interrupted her. She was a bit frightened to open the door at first; after all, Ray wasn't expecting guests and it wasn't like people around here knew her well enough to come visit. So who could it be? Curiosity won over Hilary's mind and she moved toward the door, opening it just a crack.

"Hi!" a friendly voice and face greeted her.

She breathed a sigh of relief. It was just Lee. "Hey Lee!" she replied, "what brings you here?" Realizing that the door was still mainly shut, she opened it more to allow him to come in.

"Well, Ray's on another date with Mariah, so I have nothing to do," he told her.

"Oh, well, I was going to clean today, but let's go into town instead."

Lee nodded, pleased that he wouldn't be spending the day as alone as he originally thought. Plus, it was time to get to know this girl more. Ray had always talked about her when he told them of his memories with the Bladebreakers and she sounded like the type of girl who was smart and not a pushover. The type of girl any normal guy would like to have, at least as a friend. He had heard tales about her stubbornness, the way she disciplined even Tyson and how she could put anyone in their place, Kai included. Now he may have not known anything about her, but anyone who could discipline Tyson and put Kai in his place definitely deserved respect.

"Ok, I'm ready to go!" Hilary's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he smiled at her, getting off the couch.

"Let's go then."

The two had decided to go to the marketplace, partly because it was the center of the small village, and partly because Hilary had expressed her wish to at least have a home-cooked meal for Ray to come home to. While White Tiger Hills was indeed small, they had the largest marketplace and variety of foods that Hilary had ever seen in her life. She decided to cook some fish and potatoes that day, with some steamed vegetables on the side. Pulling out her coin purse, she paid the lady selling the food the amount owed and continued through the bustling center of the village, Lee in tow.

"Hey, is there anything you need?" she asked him, more to make small talk than anything else.

"Well, I could use some of Feng's super-cleaning potions for the house," Lee replied.

Again, they went on to their desired destination, talking about various things on their way. By the end of the day, the two had become good friends (well, as good as you can get for a day), and felt rather comfortable in each other's presence. Sadly though, the day was ending and Hilary decided she should head home to start preparing the dinner. Reluctantly, Lee let her go but insisted that he walk her home. Happily, she agreed, and an idea dawned upon her while traveling.

"Hey Lee, do you want to stay for dinner?" she asked, hoping that he'd agree to the idea.

"Yeah, sure but will it be ok with Ray?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine; plus, he can have Mariah come with him so it'll be all four of us!"

"That's actually a good idea. When did Ray say he was going to get home?"

"Around eight," Hilary said, looking down at her watch, "it's five now, we should have enough time to cook."

"Whoa, cook? Who said anything about me cooking?" Lee asked jokingly.

"Well," responded Hilary in the same playful manner, "if you don't feel like cooking, you can always clean!"

He paused as if in thought, and waited patiently for her to open the door to Ray's house, which they'd just reached. Walking inside with her, he gave his answer; "No thanks, I think I'll cook!"

She scrunched up her face in a giggle and winked at him. "Thought you'd want to cook. It's a good thing too, otherwise we'd have to get the hospital to come!" Hilary placed the ingredients for the dinner out onto the kitchen counter and took out the pans/pots he'd need.

As soon as he got to work on the cooking, she got to work on the cleaning. She took the broom out of its closet for the second time today, and finished cleaning after an hour or so. Because White Tiger Hills was such a small and secluded village, the homes were not very big. And seeing as how Ray wasn't exactly a rich middle-aged man, his home was essentially two large rooms: one with a living room, dining, and kitchen and the second with a bedroom and a bathroom.

The bedroom had a large window, and Hilary looked out, concerned about the dark clouds that were rolling in rapidly.

"Hey Lee?" she called to him.

"Yeah?"

"Look out the window," she told him, knowing that there was another window in the living room.

"Wow, those clouds look pretty dark."

"Yeah," she agreed, coming into the room, "you think Ray and Mariah will be able to get back in time? I mean, it's 6:30 now, who knows where they've gone to and how long they need to get back?"

"Well, hopefully, if they're smart and haven't gone too far, they'll be back soon."

_-Meanwhile-_

At the same time Hilary and Lee were looking out at the clouds from the safety of Ray's home, Ray and Mariah were going through a forest, trying to find the fastest route home.

"Damn it!" Ray cursed, "I knew we shouldn't have gone so far!"

"Calm down," Mariah told him, "it was a beautiful day when we left. No one could have predicted that there'd be a storm today."

"Still," Ray trailed off, obviously still a little peeved at the fact that he was now caught outside in growing storm. It wasn't so much for his sake that he was worried, it was for Mariah and Hilary's sakes.

He and Mariah were in a forest and if this storm had lightning with it, he feared that it may strike one of the trees and one of those trees would fall on his girlfriend. Or if she slipped in the mud and twisted her ankle, what could be done? He was strong, but he wasn't strong enough to lift her up and carry her all the way. Worst-case scenarios running through his mind at alarming speeds, Ray was forced to make a decision.

"Well, it looks like we're going to have to find some shelter because we won't be able to get back in this weather," he told her reluctantly. It had already begun to rain pretty hard and she was in no mood to argue. Together, they found a small cave and decided to wait out the storm in there. After sitting in silence for some odd number of minutes, Ray voiced his concerns.

"I'm worried."

"About what?"

"Not what, who. I'm worried about Hilary; she's always been really scared of thunderstorms. One night, we were all at the dojo, and it started to rain really hard and after a few minutes, there came lightning and thunder.

Hilary totally freaked. She wouldn't let us go to sleep; she kept trying to make up excuses for us to stay up, but we could all tell she was really spooked. Max had tried to cheer her up with hugs but it didn't work. Nothing any of us did worked. Even Tyson tried. She was so hysterical and near tears about the whole thing that Kai stayed up with her the whole night. It was a good thing he was tired too, because Hilary pretty much clung to him for dear life. We heard her cry a few times, and in the morning, she seemed really embarrassed about the whole thing but we told her it was all right. That was only a minor thunderstorm, nothing like we get in the mountains here. I just hope that someone's there with her now."

"Wow, poor thing. Don't worry too much though, Lee's probably there with her right now."

And what a good thing he was.

_-Back with Lee and Hilary-_

"Boy, it's really coming down out there huh?" Lee asked, more to himself than anyone else.

"Yeah," Hilary agreed. Her voice sounded small and timid, but she was actually a bit happy that there wasn't any lightning or thunder. BOOM. Scratch that. That there hadn't been any lightning or thunder.

Quickly, she headed away from the window and towards the couch, holding her knees to her chest and rocking back and forth.

Lee, not being stupid and oblivious, noticed the sudden change in her demeanor and was puzzled as to what was wrong. "Hey," he spoke softly as he wandered over to her, "what's wrong?"

"I hate-AAAH!!" she let out a shriek as all the lights in the small home went out at the same time.

Sighing, Lee got up off the couch and felt around the kitchen for some candles. Blindly, he lit them and when the flame produced enough light, he came back to the couch and set them down on a small wooden coffee table.

"Now," he continued, "what's wrong?"

"I hate thunderstorms," came the murmured response from a Hilary that was now so scared, she was about ready to assume the fetal position.

"You hate thunderstorms? Why? They're so cool."

Shaking her head violently at him in disagreement, she stated, "No they're not. They're TERRIBLE."

He was about to press further into the subject when a lightning bolt struck near them and brightly illuminated the whole room. It caused two reactions; Lee stared at it in awe before reverting his attention back to Hilary, while Hilary screamed and held her hands over her ears while burying her face in her knees.

"Are you ok?" he asked, starting to get really worried. He'd never seen anything like this; it was almost as if the thunderstorm was, in her mind, the most evil and terrifying thing. But Lee couldn't leave it at simply observing her, no. He needed to find out the reason that thunderstorms were so dreaded for Hilary. Unfortunately for him, the only response he received from her was a stream of strangled, hysterical sobs.

Highly concerned about her now, he moved closer and put his arms around her in an attempt to comfort her. It seemed to have worked, if only partially, but it's effect was short-lived for just moments later another great bolt of lightning, followed by a clap of thunder came out of the storm, sending Hilary back into her frightened mode.

Lee waited a few more minutes, until her cries subsided, and decided to ask her again. "Are you ok?"

Hilary's tear-stained face emerged from her knees and glared at him. "What kind of question is that?" she retorted angrily, "Does it look like I'm ok?"

Taken aback by her sudden venom-filled voice, Lee whispered, "No ma'am." Hey, if this girl was as strong and dangerous as Ray had told him, who was he to mess with her, especially at a time like this. Plus, she was acting a bit crazy right now, nothing like the girl he had just spent the day with.

Again, he waited for minutes before asking another question. "Why do you hate thunderstorms?"

He hadn't thought that the question was too personal or intrusive, he was just curious. Apparently, Hilary must have misinterpreted what he'd asked because all she did was go into hysterics again, blubbering something incomprehensible while tears flowed down her cheeks. "Ok…" That was all he could say to her behavior.

The tears and hysteria subsided and Lee was not sure whether he should be thankful or frightened. Thankful that it had stopped, or frightened that it might happen again. Luckily for him, Hilary seemed to have stopped for good.

"Well," she told him breathlessly, "thunderstorms are terrible."

It took a few moments for Lee to register that she was answering his question, and when he finally did, he prodded her to continue.

"My dad was coming home from work one day. It was raining really hard and there was lightning, which was bad because he needed to walk home. We didn't have a car yet. While he was walking home, lightning struck a nearby tree and it fell on him. Three hours later, we got a call that he'd died. I was only five," she concluded her sad tale with a whisper, looking down at the carpeted floor.

They remained in silence for a while, Lee's eyes widening at what he had just heard. 'So that's why,' he thought. Now he felt sort of guilty that he'd practically forced her into answering a question that did not seem so personal, but the response had been very personal. As if to affirm his thought, Hilary spoke, "Wow, I've never told anyone that," she said breathlessly.

"I-I'm sorry for your loss," Lee told her kindly and with a voice indeed filled with sympathy.

"Thanks, but I really should learn to get over it by now."

"He's your dad, you're going to love him all your life."

"Yeah, I guess."

"You know what though?"

"What?"

"I can see why you're afraid of thunderstorms but you don't have to be. I mean, they can be a somewhat positive thing. If anything, every time a thunderstorm comes, it's a sign that your father's still out there, looking after you."

Hilary's eyes widened at she stared at the boy before her. Where had she heard those words before? Of course! The hospital! She closed her eyes and the day of her father's death flew in front of her. School- come home- waits for dad- get the call- rush to hospital. She had been in his room, by his side for the longest time, the doctor only shooing her out when they needed to do something urgent. A few minutes later, they had come out, telling Hilary and her mother that he had not survived. Both ladies went into the room, Hilary's mother immediately running to her husband's side, as Hilary walked to the desk beside his bed, curiously eyeing a piece of paper.

It was folded twice, and as she opened it, she at once noticed her father's neat calligraphy-like handwriting. Though she was only five, she could read very well for her age and so she read the note:

_Dear Hilary,_

_I love you and your mother very dearly, and I am sorry to have left you. Just remember my flower, that anytime there's a thunderstorm, I'm right there, looking out for you._

_I love you two very much._

_Itachi_

"Hilary? Hilary? HILARY!" she snapped back to reality when she noticed that Lee was calling her name. Her mouth opened a little and she stared at him for a few moments, and then nodded her head with a small smile.

"You were right," she told him. "He is there with me."

Upon seeing her in a better mood, Lee himself cheered up and smiled back. "He'll always be there with you, Hilary."

Her smile grew wider and she even laughed a little. "Yeah, I know that now, thanks."

"No problem," he told her, quite happily. "So, are you still scared of thunderstorms?"

"Nah, I think I'm good," she replied, and for the first time she felt like she actually wanted the world to be in a constant thunderstorm. "Thanks, I don't think I would have made it through without you."

"What are friends for?"

The two just stared at each other for what seemed like minutes before Hilary noticed something out the window. "Hey look, the storm's stopped. And…I think I see Ray with Mariah now."

At this, Lee's attention turned to the window rapidly as well, for he had been hoping his sister and her boyfriend would make it home safely. He breathed a sigh of relief as he noted that it was indeed they.

'Wait a minute,' he thought, 'if the storm's ended, then the power might be back on!' Running over to the kitchen counter, he found the light switch and upon flicking it, the entire house was filled with light in a matter of seconds.

Just then, the knock on the door came, letting Hilary and Lee know that Ray and Mariah had indeed arrived home. Both Hilary and Lee raced to the door, almost tripping over one another.

"Hey guys!" Mariah greeted them.

"You're safe!" Lee exclaimed, hurrying over to check his sister for any injuries.

"Yeah, that was a pretty nasty storm though," Ray admitted. He then turned to Hilary. "How are you doing? Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Hilary smiled at him, "I'm perfectly fine. Lee was here to keep me company so it was all good."

"Thanks Lee," Ray smiled at the other boy.

"No problem. It was actually kind of cool staying with Hilary," Lee responded.

"It was, was it?" Mariah's eyebrows rose at the two, and she smirked.

Lee lightly blushed and Hilary just rolled her eyes at the other girl. "Come on you two, dinner's getting cold."


	9. Misunderstanding: Enrique and Hilary

AN: I do not own anything but this story!

Misunderstanding

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'I can't believe I'm having this conversation,' Hilary thought as she sat across from one of her good friends, Enrique, who was now confessing to her that he liked her. Sure, she found him kind of attractive and the whole European accent was kind of hot, but he had a reputation for liking pretty much any and every girl. Naturally, Hilary was a bit wary of him and his intentions with her, but she secretly hoped that this time, he was going to like a girl for real.

Still, it was better safe than sorry. She just hoped that her suspicion wouldn't offend him. "Hey, um, are you serious? I mean…I guess I kind of like you too," she admitted.

He took her hand in his and looked her in the eyes when responding. "I am the most serious I have ever been in my life; I really like you Hilary, can't you just accept that?"

She sighed and looked away, feeling almost guilty; his voice had sounded so sincere, and that look in his eyes was the most affectionate she had ever seen him look at anybody. So why did she still feel iffy about the whole thing?

"Well…I want to, but I've heard things, and people know about your reputation," she told him, choosing to be completely honest, "I just don't want to be another girl that you date for a few weeks and then forget about."

He let out a deep breathe that he had been holding in, and let go of her hand. Of course he was hurt by what she'd told him but he understood her position; he just hoped that she'd believe he was an honest man in the end.

"I could never forget about you; you're one of the only people I can trust and one of the few that take me seriously. No one can replace you."

She smiled at his kind words, but he saw in her eyes that she was still not convinced that this was a done deal.

"As for my reputation…well, it's true. I do go out with a lot of girls and I think that I've actually liked some of them. But I don't do it to play with their hearts or to be seen as popular. In fact, you may not believe me when I tell you the reason why."

"Try me."

"Just so you know, everyone's idea of me is a big misunderstanding. Well, I'm a strong believer in true love, and I'm just trying to find the girl I truly love. I'm trying to find the one I see most perfectly and which one means the most to me. I don't want to just give away my love or commit to a long-term relationship with someone I don't see myself loving or someone I already know I don't love. Those other girls have all been fine and dandy, but I just don't love them. And you…you're the closest girl I've ever come to loving, so I just want to see if we started dating, maybe I'd find out that you're the one I truly love. I just feel so comfortable and myself around you; I feel like I can be totally honest and you won't judge me. You're the only person who gets past all the misconceptions people have about me and got to know the real me. Hilary, I can't promise you that you are the one or that we'll go out for a long time and fall madly in love. But I can promise you that I care about you enough to not hurt you, to try and make you happy, and to apologize to you when I make mistakes. So…what do you say? Will you be my girlfriend?"

Wow. If there was something that Hilary wasn't expecting, it was certainly that. She remained in her state of shock for a few minutes, while Enrique stared anxiously into her eyes.

His anxiety disappeared when she broke out into a large smile and her eyes filled with tears of what seemed to be happiness.

"You really mean that?" she asked him, already knowing the answer.

"I really do," he smiled back at her and took her hand again.

"Then, I guess you have a girlfriend," she laughed at him as he did a little victory dance.

He smiled back at her and gave her a kiss. Maybe it wasn't true love… but it sure felt like it.


	10. Angles: Jim and Hilary

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Beyblade, its characters or RCS/Compass Directions! I write this purely for me personal enjoyment and hopefully, the enjoyment of others!

**AN: Greetings everyone! Coming at you right now is Chapter 10 of 'The Hilary Project'! Hopefully, you have all enjoyed thus far the lovingly crafted piece of fanfiction on which I am currently working! **

**I apologize for not having updated earlier but my educational portion of life has been keeping me from doing so. This chapter is entitled "Angles" and is a Jim/Hilary pairing! Enjoy!

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Hilary sat across from her boyfriend of 2 weeks, Jim, and prepared herself for one of the most intense and brain-cramping lesson on angles she would ever receive in her life. Knowing of his mathematical expertise, she had gone to him the week before exams, hoping to receive a lesson that would make her understand the "stupid angles" she was supposed to have learned about in class.

Good-natured as always, he'd just laughed when she'd gone to him for help and after calming down, reassured her that he would indeed provide her with the assistance she so desperately needed.

One of the reasons Jim didn't mind tutoring his girlfriend was because she was already intelligent. There was rarely a problem she came to him with that she didn't already have some idea of how to figure it out.

This is why it shocked him greatly when she understood nothing about the angles: RCS and Compass Direction related to be specific.

"There is a right angle for everything," he had once told her and upon finally understanding his statement, Hilary concluded that she agreed with him.

Not only was there a right angle for everything, but also he seemed to be so damn good at finding all the right angles. When teaching her math, he always knew the right way to approach the problem and how to explain it so that in a matter of minutes, she would understand it perfectly.

With angles being his area of expertise, this lesson seemed not to be an exception. Indeed, it had been more hard work than any other lesson she'd gotten from him but nevertheless after an hour or so, Hilary was confidently writing out the angles and directions of various lines.

To Jim, it appeared that she was intently focused on her math exercises but in fact, Hilary's mind was going a mile-a-minute trying to figure out how to pay him back. She knew that he didn't want anything from her in return for his lessons, but she felt it just wasn't fair to take up his time and not pay him back. She smiled slyly to herself as an idea began to form itself.

"So," she began, "you say there's a right angle for everything?"

He looked up at her in surprise and nodded. "Yes, there is a right angle for everything."

"So," she started again, tilting her head to the side, "if I wanted to kiss you, would this be a good angle?"

Not understanding at first that she was serious about kissing him, he quizzically gazed at her and with a stoic face, replied, "Well, due to the angle of my head, I'd say you'd need to adjust about another 5 degrees."

Not sure whether to laugh or be offended that he didn't believe she was serious, Hilary chose the former and tilted her head to what she presumed to be an extra five degrees.

"Better?" she asked.

At this point, it showed in Jim's eyes that he had caught on to the fact she was serious about kissing him and proceeded to turn a rose colour. Gathering up some courage, he responded "Much better," and moved forward, allowing for their lips to meet in chaste, innocent kiss.

If this was what he got for tutoring, well, let's just say that Jim would put in many hours of work to reap the rewards.

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**AN: Alright, there it was, Chapter 10! Please read and review!**


	11. Phonebooks: Tala and Hilary

AN: Ok guys, sorry for the wait but here's chapter 11! I was really torn between making this a Tala/Hilary or a Bryan/Hilary. For the time being, it is Tala/Hilary but it's subject to change.

Disclaimer: I own nothing; not these characters, not this fandom, and not even this idea! It was taken from some Yellowpages commercial!

Enjoy! Please read and review!

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"So, you're getting married huh?"

"Yup."

"You? Married? Hahaha!" Spencer called from the next room.

Tala glared. "And why is that so funny?"

Spencer gave him a look. "In all the years I have known you, you have never expressed a desire to get married."

"Well, I'm human so get over it."

He held up his hands in defence. "Alright, sorry."

Silence.

"It wasn't even my choice really."

"What do you mean? You asked her didn't you?"

"Not exactly…"

"Then how?"

"Well, it all started like this…"

_FLASHBACK IN TALA'S POV_

So I had decided to take my girlfriend, Hilary to this really awesome Russian restaurant that was in my old neighbourhood. Obviously, I had to bring her all the way to Russia and so she took it as a really big deal, which, I guess it was. Anyway, I hadn't been able to find the address of the place anywhere except in this old phonebook I had. It was from like 1997 or something…never trust those damn old phonebooks.

So there she was, waiting for me at the airport. I came to get her in a taxi and told her that we would go back to my place so she could leave her stuff there before we went to the restaurant. Of course, she got all disappointed when she realized it was just a restaurant that I wanted to take her too but she said that it was fine because she was getting to spend time with me.

Never trust girls when they say that. They're lying through their teeth.

So, all bullshit aside, we got to the damn address and she starts squealing. You know? One of those high-pitched 'OHMYGOD!' girly squeals that can never mean anything good. I was like 'what the hell is she squealing for? It's a goddamn restaurant!' I see her staring at something above our heads. Curious, I look up where she was looking. 'DEAR GOD' I think. The restaurant had been torn down and a jewellery store specializing in ENGAGEMENT rings is in its place. I was just about ready to faint. Those damn phonebooks. I'm telling you, never trust them.

Anyway, Hilary's delighted by the whole thing and that kinda makes me feel sorta fuzzie bunnies inside cause well, I love her. BUT GOD DAMN, WHY A JEWELRY STORE? She walks in and pulls me with her. This salesperson greets us and asks what we're here for. Hilary, being a linguistics freak, knows Russian and tells the guy that I, her boyfriend, am here to buy her an engagement ring. Now, I may seem somewhat heartless, but I'm telling you, the look on that poor girl's face, I couldn't take letting her down. So I let her look at rings and whatnot and after hours of having bright diamonds shine in my eyes, she picks one up and says 'It's perfect!' and gives me a hug.

I love the girl and I still didn't have the heart to tell her I wanted to just take her to a restaurant, not marry her, so I pay for the ring and we walk out. All the while I'm thinking, 'Well shit, what do I do now? She's going to expect me to propose!' The way I see it, I have 3 options:

I can just tell her the truth straight up and let her keep the ring.

I can get married, and if I don't like living with her, I can get a divorce.

I just stay with her for the rest of my life.

Well, we're not married yet, so I haven't decided whether it's 2 or 3 but that's how I've come to this point. Having a wedding, and settling down.

_END FLASHBACK_

"Wow," Spencer said, "that's an amazing story."

"Amazing or not, that's the reason I'm getting married. And the reason I'll never trust a phonebook again. It's Google all the way for me now."


	12. Punctuality: Tyson and Hilary

AN: Ok, here's chapter 12! I know it probably won't compare with chapter 11, but here it is nevertheless!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything!

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Hilary Tachibana was a very punctual person. Set up a meeting with her at anytime of the day, and she'd probably be there half an hour early. This was something that made people view her as reliable. It also made them appreciate her, mistaking her punctuality for a determination, a caring that wasn't really present. 

And Hilary, being the punctual person she was, expected that those with whom she was meeting and be-friending would give her the same courtesy of being punctual themselves. It irked her to no end when she realized that this was not the case for many of her friends. Ray, though polite, showed up ten minutes late to any meeting. Kai, though strict, always found excuses for his twenty to thirty minutes and Tyson, well he was becoming a different story.

Tyson had asked her out weeks before the disbanding of the Bladebreakers and on their first date just happened to run into some trouble along the way and was ten minutes later than he should have been. Of course, when he had gotten to Hilary's house he was scolded and she told him that if he were ever late again to one of their meetings, that she would end their relationship. He had taken her words to heart and promised to show up on time.

It had happened for the first little while, but now it seemed that he really didn't care whether he was on time or not. Their last date had been planned for 7 o'clock but Tyson only showed up at Hilary's house at 8:30. Not only that, but when she scolded him, he just shrugged it off and told her he'd had some important business. Needless to say, she was becoming infuriated with his attitude towards her and his tardiness. Something like this would simply not be tolerated any further. Deciding that she would do something about it if it happened the next time, Hilary put on a smile, apologized to him, and went peacefully to the movies. She scheduled their next date for the following Friday afternoon at 6 o'clock.

That following Friday, she was disappointed and somewhat heartbroken to see that he hadn't shown up on time. In fact, he had shown up nearly two hours later! Reminding herself of her promise, she took action. Slowly, her eyes followed him walking up her driveway, up her stairs and to the door. Hilary opened it just as he was about to knock, with a less than pleasant facial expression to greet him.

"What do you want?" she asked harshly.

"Uh," Tyson's eyes shifted left to right, afraid to meet his girlfriend's face, "I'm here to pick you up. Our date, remember?"

Hilary glanced at her watch, and shook her head sadly, "Tyson, there's a time for relationships, and you're too late."

He looked up at her, honestly shocked. "You mean it?"

"Sorry," she replied offhandedly.

He turned his back. "...I guess I'll go then."

_Silence._

Three days had passed since then and Hilary had not shown up to practices. That day, a Tuesday, she came home to find a small parcel on her doorstep. Finding that it was adressed to her, she curiously picked it up and entered her house. Upon opening it, a letter in a dark red envelope fell out.

Reading it, she was more than pleased to discover that it was an apology letter from Tyson and she saw by the sheer neatness of it, that it had taken a long time to craft. The words were not only carefully written but also carefully chosen and for the first time, Hilary felt her heart flutter at viewing the only piece of evidence that showed her boyfriend truly was commited to their relationship.

Still inside the parcel was a small velvet box. Within said box, Hilary discovered a beautiful silver watch and another small note. 'I synchronized it to 'Hilary' time,' she laughed as she read that, 'so I'll always be on time!' Rolling her eyes at his somewhat cheesy choices of wording, she took out her cellphone and texted him.

'Meet me tomorrow at the riverbank at 6pm.'

Just moments later, her phone rang. "Hello?" she answered.

"I'll be there," came the for once serious voice of Tyson, "on time."

"Kay," she said and hung up with a smile.

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AN: Look for chapter 13 sometime closer to the Holiday break! 


	13. Cooking: Oliver and Hilary

**AN:** **Sorry it took so long to update, but projects were overwhelming me! Alright, here's at least one chapter before everyone starts their festive celebrations! I'll be away for most of winter break; so happy holidays and I wish everyone a happy new year! May all your wishes of this previous year have been fulfilled and may your happiness and well-being be continued on to the next year! Again, thank you so much to the people who have been reading and reviewing this; it's really helped me to keep going knowing that you guys appreciate what I'm writing:)**

**Although this chapter is not Holiday inspired, I think it's going to warm your hearts nevertheless and I'm very proud to share it with you all. It's an Oliver/Hilary, so for those of you who have never read one of these, prepare to read your first one! Hope you guys enjoy it, and don't forget to read and review! Again, happy holidays and happy new year! All the best!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or its characters.

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The two were great together, the perfect tag team.

They dominated the restaurant scene and many of their jealous competitors would often stop by their head restaurant in Paris, hoping to steal some of their secrets along the way. Their place promoted quick yet delicious food, made right in front of your eyes. Now obviously, this wasn't your everyday run-of-the-mill a la carte restaurant, as there was one main dinner meal served every night.

That's right; the customers were not ordering separate plates and dishes, but rather, were each receiving, in essence, the same meal. Although there wasn't the luxury of choice, many people found that a small price to pay as they in turn received the luxury of seeing their cuisine made right before their eyes in the most entertaining way. It was like a show and a dinner in one.

Many small tables with cozy chairs were distributed evenly throughout a medium-sized room surrounding a large rectangular table in the front that more often than not, was filled with fresh ingredients. Though the meal prices were highly affordable, the restaurant was more often than not occupied by rich customers who had made reservations (and probably bribed the greeters) months in advance.

This was not what the owners (also known as the great tag team) had wanted when they opened up the restaurant but realized that it could not, in fact, be avoided. Nevertheless, to maintain their appeal to the targeted consumers (middle class families), once a month they held 'Normal Nights' to which richer customers would not be allowed.

That one time a month was to let people know that they did this out of pure love for their skill and not to profit as restaurant owners or gain some success before branching out and becoming actors. The dynamic duo consisted of Oliver, the head chef who would astound the audience with his cooking skills-and if they were lucky enough-his magical flambé and Hilary, the assistant when it came to the cooking part but most importantly, the designer. She put the food that Oliver made into such ornate and intricate displays, that those in the audience were sure they would eat dirt if she made it look like that! She was also more lively and interactive with the customers, often cracking jokes (usually at Oliver's expense) as well as cracking eggs.

A few times, TV officials would try to get in the restaurant and secretly film their shows but much to Oliver and Hilary's pleasure, they'd always be found out by security and then are delicately escorted out followed by angry rants from Oliver after the show that leave them feeling guilty. Truth was, even the most heartless person could be feeling guilty after receiving a talk from Oliver. Hilary was the one who usually politely escorted said camera people out, telling them that they'd be moving to a VIP spot and proceeding to lead them outside.

Their shows had become world renowned and people were not only starting to wonder how they cooked without getting messy or dishevelled, but also how they were able to produce such a fantastic show!

The secret was chemistry. The two had become close and had been secretly dating for a while now. It was a surprise that most people hadn't managed to figure out that their relationship went beyond a professional level. Also, since both were generally up-beat and charismatic people, they brought out the best in each other.

Originally, the idea to start this restaurant had formed into Hilary's head one Sunday morning. During the time she lived with Oliver at his Parisian flat, she had become accustomed to walking around him to get dishes while he was cooking or to add some special garnish to whatever he was making; she had even gotten used to catching his pancakes in the air on a plate.

'With his cooking skills, and my entertainment know-how, we'd make a great team,' she thought. 'Not only that, but people can be wary of eating food because they don't see how it's made…my god, I think I've got a good idea!'

She had then proposed it to Oliver, who was pleasantly surprised by her creative thinking and having extra money anyway, he decided that this idea was an investment worth making.

And now here they were, astonishing customers with their talents and making them not only enjoy their food, but also their time spent at the restaurant. Every now and then, Oliver would plant a kiss on Hilary's cheek or she'd let loose a 'sweetie' during the show but the audience wouldn't think much of it. That is, they didn't think much of it until tonight.

Part of the show was that you got to eat the food at the same time the chef and assistant would eat theirs. During that time, a panel discussion would occur and those curious asked questions about cuisine and how to decorate it or any other questions they may have had regarding culinary utensils, recipes or arts.

This particular night, Oliver had made his famous éclairs and everyone was excited to eat them, Hilary included. She took a bite into the delectable pastry but gave a grunt of pain when her teeth were met with something hard. Not used to finding flaws with Oliver's cooking, she took this mysterious hard object from her mouth and examined it in her hand. Her eyes went wide as she realized that what she had been chewing on seconds earlier was the silver band of a ten-karat diamond ring. She gave a loud gasp of shock, making all those around her turn their heads and look at her.

Oliver, smiling, took the ring away from her shocked face and hands, and knelt down in front of her. At that moment, everyone in the audience's eyes was upon them. So the rumours had been true, they were an item! "Hilary," Oliver looked up at her joyously, "will you marry me?"

Her face had contorted into several different expressions before squealing and mumbling some incoherent words. Oliver had not understood her reaction but all worry and doubt that had previously filled him disappeared as soon as she hugged him, tears of happiness coming down her face.

At that point, most of the civilians were standing, shouting their approval at the two. Hey, if the two were going to be together than it meant that their restaurant would continue to exist and dazzle. And at the rate they were going with happiness, they may even make all their meals free for tonight.


	14. Genuine Smiles: Bryan and Hilary

AN: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait but I have _finally _put out another chapter! This one is called Genuine Smiles and it's a Bryan/Hilary pairing!

Disclaimer: I do not own beyblade, its characters, or smiling.

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Having Bryan as your boyfriend made life considerably more complicated yet more fulfilling.

You tried so hard to make him happy but he was always in a dark mood. And he said he cared but sometimes you really wondered.

Of course, then there were those few rare times where he gave you the nicest smile you'd ever seen and made you feel like you were the only person who mattered and it was then that you knew everything you'd went through had been worth it, just to see this one smile.


	15. Interior Decorating: Robert and Hilary

**_Author's Note:_** Sorry for the long tme it took me to update but I have just been lacking inspirtaion lately (it having travelled to the Naruto fandom). I want to apologize to all those who read this fic thus far for the updates will probably be a rare thing. Don't get me wrong; I will still try my best to finish the whole 39 but the updates just won't be as frequent.

Disclaimer: I do _not_ own Beyblade.

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If you want a relationship to be successful, you need to have at least one favourite past time in common. This was a secret rule that Robert, Hilary and only a handful of other people on the planet understood. 

Love was a spark that electrified and excited its owners, but was something that could not sustain a relationship for a long period of time. If the two people in question had nothing in common, they would tire of each other quite rapidly and the relationship would be doomed to fail. Love was a spark that needed sustenance, coming in the form of similar personalities or interests.

Robert and Hilary perceived their relationship as successful not only because it had lasted 20 glorious years thus far but also because they had many hobbies that were similar. Interior decorating was one of them.

Now Robert was not a huge fan of the whole process but he enjoyed being involved in the renovating of his own place; it was something that gave him meaning, gave him purpose. Hilary, ever the woman, loved interior design because this was her one chance to change something, and with this process, her wonderful husband could not counter any of the decisions she made, only sit there and watch helplessly as she redecorated his house. Although that wasn't usually the case, for Robert agreed with most of the changes she made and had even complimented her for having an eye for these things, she still secretly basked in the knowledge that this was the one area of their relationship where she had control.

Control was something that a woman like Hilary needed to feel she had in her life and what with all the servants, cooks, cleaners, and even the occasional masseuse, it was something that was rare for her to find. Robert had insisted that they keep the mansion, a memento of his late father and she was definitely not one to argue with that decision but sometimes she felt that the staff who were sent to the gargantuan home should have just kept out of their business, which was exactly what she told them to do when it came to the renovating. The cleaning crew was not to pick up even a speck of dust from the room in which she was working, the servants not to bring cans of paint, and the masseuse was not to be found painting their walls because after all, what was a masseuse doing painting?

Hilary, despite not liking all the assistance they received, probably because of all he control she relinquished, was incredibly gracious about it especially to her husband although she could never hide the grin on her face when she told Robert to paint the walls a certain colour to which he replied, "Yes dear," and obediently set to work.


	16. Tough: Rick and Hilary

**_Author's Note:_** Yes, yes, I know. The chapters are becoming increasingly short but bear with me here; I have virtually no inspiration._ If you feel like giving me any inspiration, please leave your lovely ideas in your reviews._ Thank you.

Disclaimer: I do _not_ own Beyblade.

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Rick and Hilary had something in common; they were both very tough people.

Rick at first glance was most definitely viewed as a tough and macho guy, his muscular physique a pretty good indication of his brute force and personality. If meeting him for the first time, most people would be intimidated, even more so when he opened his mouth and began to talk trash that was bigger than he was. His personality got on a lot of people's nerves and people often avoided him, believing that he was anti-social. With him, first impressions could be deceiving.

Hilary was a small girl who was usually mistaken for a pushover, her petite frame and large, soft brown eyes the main reason for people's misjudgement. If meeting her for the first time, people would mistake her for a nice and polite girl who respected all those around her and treated them with a kind and gracious personality. With her, first impressions were deceiving.

When they had first started going out, people had regarded them with strange looks and warnings. Surely these two were very different people who would be unable to maintain a stable relationship; they didn't need something that was just going to cause chaos and complications in their lives. Despite all the warnings from their friends, they went out anyway and were finding that with each day, they were becoming more and more glad that they hadn't listened to their comrades' advice. In one sense, they completed each other. Hilary provided the emotional relief and stability, while Rick held all the physical power and protection.

In the first year, things had gone great but during the second, it seemed their boat of love was sailing into rocky shores. There had been a major tournament that year in which the Bladebreakers decided to make their last comeback as a team, travelling overseas to the Americas in order to participate. They won the tournament, but during their competition, international tabloids started printing articles about a potential secret relationship between Hilary and Tyson. This had sent Rick, who was now living in Buffalo, into a rage and when Hilary had gotten to the US destination of the tournament, she had been confronted by her angry boyfriend. Needless to say, they had a row, apologizing afterwards but it seemed that after that things weren't the same again; too many friendships had been broken, too many lies spouting from the mouths of their friends, too many rumours circulating and too much pressure to keep it together.

Even though everything had seemed really messed up, when the two finally broke up a few months later, both turned out ok because they were both very tough people.


	17. Short Circuits: Zeo and Hilary

_**Authoress' Note:** Wow, this fic has gotten really sporadic updates. I apologize, but I have had no inspiration and no muse. I will, however, attempt to get through all 39 chapters before I sign off this website for good. Hope you enjoy this chapter!_

Disclaimer: I do _not_ own Beyblade.

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The first time he saw her after the 2002 world championship incident, his entire body short-circuited.

She definitely looked different than when he'd first met her; more mature and feminine, but the real difference was in her attitude. She was still the same go-getter she'd always been, but there was a new aura of passion and fierce optimism about her that hadn't been there before.

Recognizing him immediately, she waded through the crowded streets to greet him. He stood there for a few moments, frozen in shock, before a surge of electricity flowed through his wiring and allowed him the ability to speak.

"Hello…"

"So Zeo, how are you?" she grinned. "It's been a while since we've seen you."

"It's been too long," he agreed. "What is everyone up to now?"

She fanned with air with her perfectly manicured nails. "Same old, same old. Kai's decided to go back home for good though…Something about inheriting a corporation…it's to be expected. He always was the take-charge, project manager type. Max has gone back to America too in order to study in the field of researching. Rei's decided to stick around here with the rest of us; he wants to open up his own eatery; the opening's on Sunday. You should come if you want; the guys would love to see you," she informed him.

"Ah, that's good," he laughed lightly, rubbing the back of his neck, "seems that everything's the same between the gang. So you're still with them too?"

"Still with them or still with beyblading?"

"Both."

"Nah. I just see them every once in a while; I've moved on from my Bladebreaker groupie days. They were fun, for sure, but it was time for me to grow up and start thinking about my professional career."

"Ah, I see. So, what do you do?"

"Well," she chuckled sheepishly, "it still sort of has to do with beyblading. I work under Kai now; he's created a branch of his corporation here in Japan, and hired Tyson, Kenny and I."

"So Tyson finally got his leader position, huh?"

"Actually, no. I'm the manager of the branch. Do you really think that Kai would place someone like Tyson in such a position?" She grinned while he laughed. "Actually, I was just on the way back from my meeting, and I wanted to catch some lunch. Want to come with me?"

He nodded his head vigorously, and felt the same short circuit effect when she grabbed him by the arm and proceeded to drag him off in the direction of the downtown core.

Once they were in a restaurant, and seated, the two placed their order and began conversing about the present, reminiscing about the past, and wondering about the future. Their conversations went on uninterrupted despite the server's casual popping in and out and both of the two young adults found themselves growing comfortable in the presence of their old friend.

With the warm atmosphere provided, it seemed that lunch passed by all too quickly. When looking at her watch, Hilary noticed the late time, and immediately jumped up. "Oh my god! It's so late! I'm sorry Zeo, but I've got to go to a meeting with a supplier! Kai wanted to make sure that this new line of attack rings were ok to purchase and advertise as our own, and if I'm not there, he'll skin me alive! Thank you for the lunch!" She rushed through the door, then rushed back in and gave him a brief peck on the cheek. "It was nice seeing you again! Bye!"

If Hilary would have looked back after running out to her meeting, she would have seen the malfunctioning mechanical hand waving awkwardly and intermittently back at her and the sparks coming out of Zeo's body, rendering him immobile. His eye twitched involuntarily.

Short-circuiting really sucked.


End file.
